Going with Tradition
Mitch Deer displays white corn that was grown by Kahnawa’kehró:non Randy Cross. (Emma McLaughlin)
Story told by Mitch Deer
There’s a festival called the medicine ceremony. You take the seeds that you’re going to plant and you bring them to the Longhouse. You pass around the medicine and you drink it through your body. The next day, you have the seed festival. You take that medicine, and you put it on the seed to make it fertile.
In 1976, this guy let us use his land in Onondaga and we planted white corn up on this hill. At the bottom, the corn stalks were only four feet high but as you go up the hill, the stalks get taller and taller.
The stalks were almost 12-feet high and the cobs were three feet long. And each kernel was as big as your thumb. It was delicious. It’s because we brought those seeds to the ceremony and put the medicine on it. Going with tradition works out.
Eh tho nenionkwariho'ténhake'
Credit: Marcus Bankuti
Mitch Deer Roká:raton
Onónhkwa' iakwana'tónhkhwa' kí:ken nahò:ten' eniakwaterihwahténtia'te' tsi teniakwatenonhwerá:ton'. Tho ki' ienhsenen'énhawe' kanonhsésne tsi niká:ien' tsenthóhsere'. Tho ki' nón: ienienonhkwa'tsheróhetste', tánon' enhshnekì:ra'. Entsóhrhen'ne' ká:nen tenhsatenonhwerá:ton'. Thikanonhkwa'tsherá:te' kí:ken ensenonhkwa'tsheráhrho' ne sanen'shòn:'a, né: ki' entkáhawe' ne akaienthohseriióhake'.
Tióhton iawén:re tewen'niáwe tánon' tsá:ta niwáhsen ià:ia'k shiiohserá:te', kí:ken rón:kwe Ononta'kehá:ka wahshonkwaríhon' aiákwatste' ne raonhóntsa'. Tho onontoharà:ke taiakwanenhstaiéntho' ne onenhakén:rat. Néne tsi niká:ien' onón:takon kaienstaiénthon kaié:ri khok niwahsì:take niioheré:son's, nek tsi sénha ioheré:son's tsi wesanontahra'onhátie'. Thó:ha tékeni iawén:re niwahsì:take niioheré:son's, tánon' áhsen niwahsì:take nikahrahté:son's. Skanen'átshon tho ní:wa' tsi nihseweiónhkara. Kanenhstakon'òn:ne'. Né: onterihóhetste' nè:'e tsi kanonhsésne ia'akwáhawe' thí:ken kanen'shòn:'a, wa'tiakwanonhwerá:ton', tánon' wa'akwanonhkwa'tsheráhrho'. Enionkwaia'takéhnha' nó:nen eh tho nenionkwariho'ténhake'.
Translation by Akwiratékha' Martin